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Topic: Frame placement question. (Read 573 times)

My bottom brood box which has a good bit of drone comb. Is almost full of pollen, I mean every frame, with a little brood mixed in. I'm not worried about this now, but what do I do in the fall to get ready to overwinter?

Will they use up all that pollen in a dearth or the fall and winter?If its still full of pollen in the late fall, where should those frames be placed?

How much pollen do they need over winter?

Can I put a couple of the foundationless frames of pollen in the honey super? Will they pull that pollen down?

>My bottom brood box which has a good bit of drone comb. Is almost full of pollen, I mean every frame, with a little brood mixed in. I'm not worried about this now, but what do I do in the fall to get ready to overwinter?

Put the pollen in the bottom box.

>Will they use up all that pollen in a dearth or the fall and winter?

Yes. When there is no fresh pollen available.

>If its still full of pollen in the late fall, where should those frames be placed?

The bottom box.

>How much pollen do they need over winter?

Not much until late winter. Then they will burn a frame of pollen for every frame of brood they raise.

>Can I put a couple of the foundationless frames of pollen in the honey super?

Can you? Sure. Will it help anything? No.

> Will they pull that pollen down?

No. I've never seen the move pollen. They will use it when they need it and then they might fill it with something else, but I have never seen them move pollen.

I would say leave it right where it is...in the brood box. I have not seen what you have described...at least to the extent of what you describe, but I think you have the pollen right where you want it, in the brood box. The only concern I have is how much drone comb you have v. worker comb.

.One possibility is that the queen has problems and does not lay properly. Normally brood consumes the pollen what bees carry in.

Consider changing the queen.

.To me pollen is very valuable and I like to find a colony which store to me pollen for spring build up.

Now I have a colony which has 6 full frames of pollen in lowest box. Last summer the same colony stored more than one box of pollen and then colony got a good start in early spring.That colony has now 2 langstroths and 5 mediums.

With patty system I make from those pollen 10 times more patty when I mix it top soya and yeast. 10 kg pollen --> 100 kg patty.